Camden’s iconic Mecca Bingo to be turned into an ‘immersive theatre’

Camden Town’s largest bingo hall is set to become an 850-seater “immersive theatre” providing around 70 jobs.

Mecca Bingo has survived for six decades, and remains open, but its number will be up this year.

The Rank Group, which owns Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos, has been badly hit by losses over the past few years.

Since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, more than half of bingo clubs around the country have shut, and venues in Doncaster, Hull, Chester, Hayes and Hillingdon all closed last year.

The new theatre will host six to eight shows a week, and these will include a mixture of evening and matinee performances.

Punters will be able to grab a drink at the theatre’s bar, and provisions are to be made for on-site bike storage.

Conservationists will be pleased to know that the building on Arlington Road falls within the Camden Town Conservation Area.

It means the new development will not involve “any external alterations or extensions, so would not impact the character or appearance” of the building.

The council’s planning committee said the immersive theatre “is considered appropriate in this town centre location, and would preserve and enhance the vitality, function, and viability of the ‘Camden Town’ Town Centre.”

No formal objections to the planning permission were received by the Town Hall.